Abbey Craig stone to hold Wallace sword

A refurbishment of the Wallace Monument is to make use of historic local stone

A local MSP has blasted tourist bosses for a lack of openness about their Bannockburn Live plans.

As reported in last week’s Observer the previously three-day event including battle re-enactments and a recreated medieval village has now been scaled back to two days after VisitScotland took over the reins from previous organisers the National Trust for Scotland.

Peter Selman, director of properties and visitor services for NTS, said that reviewing the event programme was “the right thing to do” to make sure it fits in with National Armed Forces Day due to take place in the city on Saturday, June 28 - the first day of the Bannockburn event - as well
as Pipefest, a mass gathering of hundreds of pipers, which will take place in the city on the Friday beforehand.

Now
however Mid Scotland and Fife list member Murdo Fraser has written to VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay over concerns about evidence given to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee on January 15, less than three weeks before the changes were announced.

In
his capacity as chair of the committee Mr Fraser told the tourism boss:
“You have been provided with a budget of £5.5 million for event funding
and marketing.

“We are therefore concerned to read about the proposed diminution of this flagship event and the reported low level of ticket sales.

“We
would have expected at the very least to have been briefed on this during the January 15 evidence session. This was not the case.

“On
the contrary, the only reference made was to a proposed change of management of the event to VisitScotland away from the National Trust for Scotland. This was described to us as simply an administrative change.”

The committee heard
from VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead and Homecoming Director Caroline Packman and Mr Fraser continued: “Having reviewed the Official Report of the meeting, an extract of which I attach as an Annex, we must question how open VisitScotland witnesses were to us when
they appeared, as a guarantee was provided at the time that there was no change planned to the event programme.

“It is inconceivable to us that the need for just such a change has been identified purely in the period since January 15.”

The
extract from the meeting shows that, talking about VisitScotland’s stepping in to take over the lead for the event, Murdo Fraser asked: “So
the programme that is planned for the day is not changing as a result?”

In
response Mr Roughead told him: “That is right.” He added that the change was “much more about the logistics and the management.”

A statement issued by VisitScotland said they would be “responding directly” to the letter received from the committee.

It
added: “No decisions about the format of the event were taken until after the EET committee appearance and we will outline this in our letter back to committee members.”